Look out, world! You doubted the Kahn-O-Matic, now you reap the whirlwind! You all laughed when David Kahn signed Darko Milicic to a $20 million deal. You said there was no way a player with his history of massive failure was worth a four-year investment. But who’s laughing now, huh?

(Well, we are. Pretty loudly, actually. But go on.)

Check this out, you Hatorade drinker! Ha! See! It’s like Gatorade, only with Hate! I just made that up!

(Very amusing. What was your point, exactly?)

In the last three games, Darko is averaging 22 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.6 blocks, and 3.6 assists in 36.2 minutes and shooting 59% from the floor! That’s amazing! This proves it. David Kahn was right! And hey, look, he says so, in the Pioneer Press:

“I didn’t take much offense to it because most of the comments were not based on fact,” Kahn said of Milicic’s deal. “I don’t feel Darko’s contract was that far out of line at all. People are looking backward instead of forward — in terms of how we envision his role with us. You have to be resolute when you make decisions, and I’ve felt very strongly about this decision as with others we’ve made.

“Darko is playing better than we anticipated, considering he hasn’t played much in the past two years. I’m very happy for him.

What’cha think about that, hater?

(I think it’s terrific when a player can overcome a massive history of failure to produce on the floor with a team that dared to believe in him. It warms the heart. Tell me, real quick, prior to this little streak he’s on, you know, in the first eleven games?)

(Right. So he’s had about five good games and three great games. Is that correct?)

Well, yeah, but the latest games are the best. That means he’s improving! He’s progressing! Just like a young talent should!

(Isn’t he 25?)

Well, yeah.

(Okay, we’ll just leave that there. You’re right that those last three games have been awesome. So what are his season averages?)

Ahem… er… well…

(Go on. You can say them.)

9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.9 blocks.

(And how many turnovers?)

2.3 turnovers.

(Wait, so he actually has nearly as many turnovers as blocks?)

Well, yeah.

(Hmm. Okay, the plot thickens. But hey, maybe he’s just not getting minutes. What are his per-36 averages?)

12.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.9 blocks. See? 3.9 blocks!

(Again, how many turnovers?)

3.0.

(Okay. Now how many of those numbers for either per-game or per-36 are significantly above his 2010 numbers with the Wolves?)

Blocks!

(And?)

Turnovers.

(Okay, now how many of his per-36 numbers are significantly above his career average?)

Blocks and assists!

(Is that all?)

Yes.

(So what you’re telling me is that he’s pretty much overall this season the same player he’s always been, just that this last spurt gets him back to a regression to the mean, only he’s a better defensive player because of his block totals, right?)

Well, if you want to look at it that way, hater. It’s not all about offense. Defense is why Darko’s there!

Look, you can throw around all the numbers you want, but Darko’s making a difference!

(But wasn’t the whole point of this to show that his numbers were improving and that’s why giving one of the biggest busts in draft history $20 million over 4 years wasn’t a bad idea?)

Well, yeah. But the bigger issue here is that the Wolves are a better team now than they were last year, and that’s in part because of Darko!

(Okay. What’s the Wolves’ record?)

… 4-12.

(And what was it last year?)

1-15.

(So Darko, along with Kevin Love’s awesomeness and Michael Beasleys’ Beasleyness has helped the Wolves in 4 games of their first 16 instead of 1. )

Right!

(Okay, then. Isn’t it more plausible that this little streak he was on has simply been a regression to the mean, only with the same results and some improved shot blocking ability? Isn’t it possible that while Darko could certainly keep up this production and prove himself to be a legit NBA starter and a redeemed asset that we might want to wait just a little while before absolving Kahn of the contract and Darko of being, well, Darko?)

Tom Benson, the now 90-year-old owner of the New Orleans Pelicans and the NFL’s Saints, a few years back changed around the succession of control of the team after his passing — his wife Gayle will take control. Rita Benson LeBlanc, Benson’s granddaughter and former handpicked successor, sued saying Benson had been manipulated. After meeting privately with Benson, a judge ruled that while Benson suffered some “cognitive impairment” he was capable of making his own decisions and that Gayle remained the successor.

Benson has been sued multiple times since then, including by former Saints employee Rodney Henry, and the then-89-year-old Benson was deposed in that case last year.

During another set of questions, apparently aimed at establishing how close Benson and Henry had been, Benson was shown a photo of the two men with Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

“Who is this?” Williams asked.

“It’s Rodney and a basketball player,” Benson said. “Oh, hell, I forget his name. Let me — he’s a great player for us. Tell me his name, and I will tell you yes or no.”

When asked “is it Anthony Davis,” Benson said yes. The man is 90, I’m not sure that we should expect much. He had the foresight to bring in people to run his businesses — including his sports teams — and set up a line of succession for when he does pass. Smart moves.

Would Benson’s mental state impact potential changes coming to the Pelicans? Probably not. New Orleans’ GM Dell Demps bet big on going big in a league trending smaller, pairing Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. If that doesn’t work out, plenty of people around the league expect a house cleaning on the basketball side with the Pelicans. Benson’s mental state, whatever it may be, does not impact that.

The deposition leak came from an anonymous source (and anonymous email account, the paper verified the document before publishing). Who leaked it? It may be nearly impossible to find out, but only one side benefits from all this becoming public. And it’s not Benson.

A few years back in Philadelphia, the athletic K.J. McDaniels was a highlight factory and looked like a guy who could develop into a role player on the wing in the NBA.

Except, he never actually developed. Houston gave him a chance (three years at a total of $10 million), and it didn’t work out, then last season Brooklyn had him for 20 games, but they decided to move on.

Now Toronto is going to give him a chance, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

McDaniels’ agent later confirmed the news. This is a training camp, make-good contract for McDaniels. But unlike a lot of those contracts being handed out around this time, there is space on the Raptors roster for a player or two.

Before the KJ McDaniels partial, Toronto had $116.6M in guaranteed salary with 13 players + the $100K partial of Alfonzo McKinnie.

McDaniels will compete with Alfonzo McKinnie, Kennedy Meeks, and Kyle Wiltjer for one of the final roster spots in Toronto. Of that group, I’d most likely want to keep McDaniels because of the shot blocking and his potential — but his outside shot has to improve.

The Raptors can carry 15 on the roster and very possibly will until at least Jan. 10, which is the date these partially guaranteed deals become fully guaranteed for the season. Toronto is flirting with the tax line, and ownership is not going to want to pay the tax for this team, so if they do carry 15 they likely will cut it to 14 by that date.

The #DriveByDunkChallenge has been a fun distraction this summer. If you don’t know what it is, it essentially involves NBA players jumping out of their cars to dunk on regular folks on community basketball hoops.

There are still some serious doubts about whether the Celtics will be able to unseat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, but perhaps they won’t need to wait for long. Rumors are starting to trickle in about LeBron James leaving Ohio, so maybe by the time we are used to seeing Hayward in Celtics green next season they will have less competition out east.